Inheritance tax brought in nearly £600m a month, as experts warn that frozen threshold is punishing taxpayers February 21, 2023 Inheritance tax (IHT)receipts for January 2023 totalled £578m up from £443m in the same month a year ago, according to HMRC figures. It takes the total inheritance tax take for the 2022-23 Financial Year to date to £5.9 billion, £853 million higher than through the same period last year. The total IHT take for 2021-22 [...]
Pressure mounts on Sunak over planned six per cent rise in corporation tax February 20, 2023 Prime minister Rishi Sunak is facing down the prospect of a rebellion over next month’s budget as renewed pressure mounts over a planned increase in corporation tax increase. Seven top Tory backbenchers and business owners including Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin have urged Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt to scrap the planned six per cent rise. [...]
London to face second-lowest rise in council tax among UK regions February 14, 2023 Cash-strapped Londoners are set for a slight boost as it emerged that the region is set to raise average council tax rates by the second-lowest amount in the UK. Of the councils who have declared their municipal tariffs for 2022-23, London boroughs collectively came in second from the bottom of the pile, at a 4.4 [...]
HMRC delays are hindering UK growth, accounting body warns February 8, 2023 Major hold ups at HMRC are “acting as a drag on the UK’s economic growth,” the head of one of Britain’s top accounting bodies has said. The “unacceptable” delays, caused by backlogs at the UK’s tax authority, “need to be addressed promptly,” ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza said, as he called for the launch of [...]
EY says it does not owe ‘duty of care’ to taxman in fight over property magnate’s tax affairs February 6, 2023 EY has said it is under no obligation to help HMRC collect more taxes in defending itself against a High Court lawsuit over a British property magnate’s tax affairs. The Big Four accounting firm said it owed no “duty of care” to HMRC to have given it information that could have helped it collect more [...]
UK receives lowest ever score on corruption index as Britain’s reputation suffers after a string of political scandals January 31, 2023 Britain has received its lowest ever score and ranking on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The drop “is a powerful indictment” in the decline in public standards, campaigners say, which have been dragged down by a series of recent government scandals around the procurement of PPE during pandemic and multiple ministerial breaches. The [...]
‘No penalties for innocent tax errors’: Head of HMRC piles more pressure on Zahawi January 26, 2023 The boss of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has told MPs there are “no penalties for innocent errors”, as he was quizzed on the tax furore surrounding Nadhim Zahawi. HMRC chief executive Jim Harra, appearing before the Public Accounts Committee where he was due to discuss tax compliance and the pandemic, was pressed on some [...]
PMQs: Sunak to come under fresh scrutiny today amid Zahawi tax row and calls to fire Tory chair January 25, 2023 Rishi Sunak will come under fresh pressure over Nadhim Zahawi as he resists firing the Tory party chairman despite him being under investigation over his tax affairs. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is likely to seize on the fallout from Mr Zahawi’s multi-million pound settlement at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. The Prime Minister ordered [...]
UK’s ‘science superpower’ dreams at risk due to HMRC crackdown on R&D tax relief fraud January 24, 2023 The UK’s goal to become a ‘science superpower’ is at risk as an increasing number of British firms move their R&D activity abroad, due in part to HMRC’s crackdown on fraudulent tax relief claims, a new report says. More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of UK businesses moved R&D activity abroad last year, figures from [...]
With an average claim in excess of £50k, it really is time to see if you qualify for an R&D Tax rebate January 23, 2023 | Sponsored What are Research and development tax credits? Simply put R&D Tax Credits are a niche, but a lucrative part of the UK tax code that could bring your company significant tax relief. Most companies we speak to at SAS R&D don’t think that they will qualify for these payments with the common misconception amongst business [...]